HUMAS USU - The Industrial Engineering Program of the Faculty of Engineering Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) held the 10th National Conference on Industrial Engineering (NCIE) 2026 with the theme of ""Sustainable and Lean Strategy for Efficient Product Design" at the USU Student Center on Friday (22/05/2026).

In his remarks, the Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, and Cooperation of USU, Prof. Dr. Eng. Himsar Ambarita, S.T., M.T., stated that USU is currently entering The Era of Ultimate Excellence as a phase of proving the university’s achievements following its transformation period.

He explained that USU’s development focus is directed toward joint degree programs, double degree programs, and a Knowledge-Based Economy (KBE) to encourage internationalization and innovation with commercialization potential.

Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering USU, Prof. Dr. Ir. Renita Manurung, M.T., appreciated the implementation of the event, which she considered a platform for showcasing students’ learning outcomes.

“This is an activity that should serve as an example for all students and study programs, as it represents students’ products and learning outcomes,” she said.

According to her, activities initiated within laboratory environments should become examples for other study programs because they encourage innovation and various student achievements.

A similar statement was delivered by the Head of the Industrial Engineering Study Program USU, Prof. Ir. Aulia Ishak, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., IPM., who also expressed appreciation to all parties supporting the event and highlighted the strong enthusiasm of participants from various universities.

She hoped the activity could become a role model within the Faculty of Engineering and continue to grow by involving more study programs in the future.

“So, we aim to make this a role model for activities involving all students within the Faculty of Engineering,” she added.

On the same occasion, the Chairperson of NCIE 2026, T. Jihan Fadila, stated that this year’s conference successfully gathered 114 papers from various universities in Indonesia and Malaysia.

In addition, The 16th Product Design Competition featured six best finalist teams from Indonesia and Malaysia who would present their works directly before the panel of judges.

“Furthermore, for the Product Design Competition, from dozens of registered teams, six best finalist teams have been selected today to present their works directly before the judges. These finalists come from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Indonesia, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia, AIMST University Malaysia, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, and Universitas Dian Nuswantoro,” she said.